topic Re: Low credit score after 1 year in Understanding FICO® Scoring

Low credit score after 1 year

HauntingPickle — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 15:02:21 GMT

I opened my first ever account (an Amex charge card) 11 months ago, and a second Amex credit card 2 months ago (CL 1000$). I checked my FICO 8 score and it's only 664, while according to the FICO score estimator, it should be between 700 - 750.

I have always paid both cards off in full before the due date. I let all the charges post as statement balance (~2000-3000$/mo) on the charge card , while I've always prepaid the credit card so that the statement balance is around 50$ (5% utilization). I have applied for another Amex card during the last year for which I was declined, but since I already had a history with Amex I'm not sure whether it was recorded as a hard pull or not.

I can't view my full credit report as I don't have an SSN, but the key factors affecting my score according to Amex's FICO 8 summary are:

1) Too few accounts currently paid as agreed

2) Lack of recent installment loan information

Is my score normal based on the above? Should I be doing something differently to improve my score or accelerate the progress? Thank you!

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

GZG — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 15:25:43 GMT

@HauntingPickle wrote:
I opened my first ever account (an Amex charge card) 11 months ago, and a second Amex credit card 2 months ago (CL 1000$). I checked my FICO 8 score and it's only 664, while according to the FICO score estimator, it should be between 700 - 750.

I have always paid both cards off in full before the due date. I let all the charges post as statement balance (~2000-3000$/mo) on the charge card , while I've always prepaid the credit card so that the statement balance is around 50$ (5% utilization). I have applied for another Amex card during the last year for which I was declined, but since I already had a history with Amex I'm not sure whether it was recorded as a hard pull or not.

I can't view my full credit report as I don't have an SSN, but the key factors affecting my score according to Amex's FICO 8 summary are:
1) Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
2) Lack of recent installment loan information

Is my score normal based on the above? Should I be doing something differently to improve my score or accelerate the progress? Thank you!

list every account on your report with balances and any bad information, such as being late or never paying off an account, or collections,

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/

those factors they listed are negative (and likely true based on what you said here) along with having a young profile, I'd assume the score would be higher, but I might be wrong

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

HauntingPickle — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:04:43 GMT

Unfortunately I don't have an SSN so I can't access my credit report on the website. The latest statement balances would be:

Amex charge card (opened Aug 2022): 2473$

Amex credit card (opened Apr 2023): 74$ / 1000$ CL

I'm completely new to the US credit system, never had any product before the one mentioned above, so I don't have any late payments, collections etc.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

SouthJamaica — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 16:39:40 GMT

@HauntingPickle wrote:
I opened my first ever account (an Amex charge card) 11 months ago, and a second Amex credit card 2 months ago (CL 1000$). I checked my FICO 8 score and it's only 664, while according to the FICO score estimator, it should be between 700 - 750.

I have always paid both cards off in full before the due date. I let all the charges post as statement balance (~2000-3000$/mo) on the charge card , while I've always prepaid the credit card so that the statement balance is around 50$ (5% utilization). I have applied for another Amex card during the last year for which I was declined, but since I already had a history with Amex I'm not sure whether it was recorded as a hard pull or not.

I can't view my full credit report as I don't have an SSN, but the key factors affecting my score according to Amex's FICO 8 summary are:
1) Too few accounts currently paid as agreed
2) Lack of recent installment loan information

Is my score normal based on the above? Should I be doing something differently to improve my score or accelerate the progress? Thank you!

Welcome to the forum.

I agree that your score seems kind of low. I do think you need to add another card. Perhaps try a secured card.

To be honest, I don't know how you got this far without a social security number; perhaps someone knowledgeable about navigating the US credit system without an SSN can give you some guidance.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

FireMedic1 — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 17:30:41 GMT

For one. Charge cards dont have a credit limit. So its not a revolving credit account. So really you have 1 revolver card. You'll need another card, then a third card for best results. You have a fresh thin file. Its going to take a couple yrs to get any history and a foundation set to build on.

Are you using an ITIN? And are you in the process to get a SSN?

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

SouthJamaica — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 17:25:19 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
For one. Charge cards dont have a credit limit. So its not a revolving credit account. So really you have 1 card. You'll need another card and leave a balance of like $10 and let it post. Then pay before the due date. You have a fresh thin file. Its going to take a couple yrs to get any history and a foundation set to build on.
Are you using an ITIN? And are you in the process to get a SSN?

OP does have another card, and has been letting a $50 (or 5%) balance post, paying it off before the due date.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

FireMedic1 — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 17:32:09 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
For one. Charge cards dont have a credit limit. So its not a revolving credit account. So really you have 1 card. You'll need another card and leave a balance of like $10 and let it post. Then pay before the due date. You have a fresh thin file. Its going to take a couple yrs to get any history and a foundation set to build on.
Are you using an ITIN? And are you in the process to get a SSN?
OP does have another card, and has been letting a $50 (or 5%) balance post, paying it off before the due date.

Thanks. Edited. Under the impression just 1 charge and 1 revolver was all they had. Lightning woke me up from my beauty sleep.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

HauntingPickle — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 19:35:11 GMT

@SouthJamaica wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

I agree that your score seems kind of low. I do think you need to add another card. Perhaps try a secured card.

To be honest, I don't know how you got this far without a social security number; perhaps someone knowledgeable about navigating the US credit system without an SSN can give you some guidance.

Thank you for the welcome! I'll try getting another one and give it time.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

SouthJamaica — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 19:38:51 GMT

@HauntingPickle wrote:
@SouthJamaica wrote:
Welcome to the forum.

I agree that your score seems kind of low. I do think you need to add another card. Perhaps try a secured card.

To be honest, I don't know how you got this far without a social security number; perhaps someone knowledgeable about navigating the US credit system without an SSN can give you some guidance.
Thank you for the welcome! I'll try getting another one and give it time.

Once you have another revolving credit card, let one of them report a zero balance each month while the other reports a small balance which you promptly pay off (as you're doing with present credit card). Having one zero balance and one small balance reporting each month will help your scores.

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

HauntingPickle — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 19:56:23 GMT

@FireMedic1 wrote:
For one. Charge cards dont have a credit limit. So its not a revolving credit account. So really you have 1 revolver card. You'll need another card, then a third card for best results. You have a fresh thin file. Its going to take a couple yrs to get any history and a foundation set to build on.
Are you using an ITIN? And are you in the process to get a SSN?

I'm in the process of getting an ITIN actually. Would that affect my credit score?

Re: Low credit score after 1 year

Anonymalous — Fri, 07 Jul 2023 20:35:53 GMT

@HauntingPickle wrote:
@FireMedic1 wrote:
For one. Charge cards dont have a credit limit. So its not a revolving credit account. So really you have 1 revolver card. You'll need another card, then a third card for best results. You have a fresh thin file. Its going to take a couple yrs to get any history and a foundation set to build on.
Are you using an ITIN? And are you in the process to get a SSN?
I'm in the process of getting an ITIN actually. Would that affect my credit score?

No. Personal information is legally prohibited from being factored into credit scores.